Netanyahu Held Secret UAE Meeting With Emirati President During Iran War, PMO Says
A source familiar with the matter said Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, widely known as MBZ, met in Al-Ain, an oasis city near the Oman border, on March 26. The meeting reportedly lasted several hours.
JERUSALEM, May 13 (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret trip to the United Arab Emirates and met Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed during the war with Iran, Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday, confirming for the first time that the two leaders had met.
The Prime Minister’s Office said the encounter produced a “historic breakthrough” in ties between Israel and the UAE.
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A source familiar with the matter said Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, widely known as MBZ, met in Al-Ain, an oasis city near the Oman border, on March 26. The meeting reportedly lasted several hours.
The source added that Mossad chief Dedi Barnea traveled to the UAE at least twice during the conflict with Iran to help coordinate military activity. The Wall Street Journal first reported the intelligence chief’s visits.
Since coming under attack in the Iran war, the UAE has moved to deepen its security relationships with the United States and Israel, with which it normalized relations under the 2020 Abraham Accords. Abu Dhabi sees its relationship with Israel as both a source of regional leverage and a distinctive line of access to Washington.
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Israel had sent batteries for its Iron Dome interception system, along with personnel to operate them, to the UAE during the war.
The UAE, a major business and financial center and one of Washington’s key allies, has long pursued an assertive foreign policy and built its own sphere of influence across the Middle East and Africa.
Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Gulf states after the U.S.-Israeli attacks struck the UAE more heavily than its neighbors, damaging civilian infrastructure and energy facilities. Unlike several of its Gulf peers, however, the UAE has a pipeline that can reroute some oil exports around the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, giving it greater resilience in the face of prolonged disruption. Even so, the conflict threatens to undermine the country’s standing as a global economic hub prized for security and convenience.
